I inadvertently started a movement
Guys, I think I'm finally ready...
This has been on my mind for some time. But I think it's finally time to come out and say...
It's time for me to leave META (and by that I mean Facebook and Instagram and all related products).
I've been thinking about this for quite some time, wondering whether it would be like shooting my business in the head to do so. But to be quite honest, through 2025, the "engagement" and traffic and sales that the above apps brought me has taken a nose dive. I know my content is being hidden from my followers because I refuse to jump through their hoops.
Being with META is like being in an abusive relationship, constantly being dangled the chance of a better life (better engagement and sales), being told what hoops to jump that only increase and get harder; having all my content stolen and fed into the machine and yet being thrown the occasional bone or glimmer of improvement.
I find it harder and harder to engage with these platforms as a consumer as well.
I see how they feed me something l like, a suggested account (x4), something deeply triggering and harrowing and THEN an advert - as if I didn't already know that that advert was perfectly placed to hit my brain which is now in full panic mode to seek a hit of respite by going shopping.
This is not the world I want to live in.
These are not the businesses I want to support.
I truly believe we are living in a time where we need to make these choices. Moral choices. I really don't want to be a part of some billionaire tech bro conglomerate and feed their vast wealth and visions of the future that has us all slaves to a machine.
My website has always been my wonderfully curated safe space on the internet. As a web designer, I LOVE tinkering with it in the dark winter evenings, trying out new code and adding more content. So this is where I'm going to continue to put my focus.
For now you can also find me on Youtube here:
https://www.youtube.com/@Jezhawk (believe me YT have also been given written notice)
And on Bluesky here: https://bsky.app/profile/jezhawk.bsky.social
But quite honestly, I wish you would simply join my newsletter if you have’nt done so already:
https://www.jezhawk.com/newsletter
It's the one place to reliably and freely keep up with what's going on with me.
So this is my warning to you, in a week I'll quit Meta products for good. February 17th, I will be removing my content from these sites and leaving a holding image on them stating where I've gone.
I posted the above on Facebook earlier this week and felt a huge sense of relief once I’d done it. It has been rumbling away in my mind for quite some time. I was amazed to see the response, so many friends and followers commented on this post (and on instagram when I shared it a day later) that they had been thinking of doing the same thing, that this has encouraged them to do the same and they were delighted to see me take this stance.
To be clear, in this set of posts that I shall categorise as “The Meta Movement” - I do not wish you to feel pressured or shamed into following suit, I’m simply sharing where I’m at and why I’m doing it. Over the next few days I’ll be sharing some more posts here on my blog and they will be my final posts on Facebook and Instagram.
I look forward to sharing this journey with you! Feel free to drop your thoughts in the comments below.
